June 13, 2018: San Jose City Council, stymied by cost of Liccardo's goal of 25,000 new homes, eyes new business levies"On a key vote whether to explore a fee levied on businesses to cover a $500 million shortfall between plans and costs, the council deadlocked in a 5-5 vote, and the “commercial impact fee” nexus study was defeated. Such fees are usually levied based on the square footage of business properties... The vote was the most recent manifestation of local governments in tech-heavy cities grappling with the side effects of business prosperity — namely, housing shortages and traffic congestion — by attempting to get businesses to pay part of the costs to fix them. “Asking corporations to pitch in and join residents in funding solutions should be an easy sell but unfortunately, it is not,” Councilmember Sergio Jimenez wrote in a Facebook post after the meeting."

November 12, 2017: Letters to the Editor: Attacks on SJ project labor agreements are unfoundedAn Op-Ed from Councilmember Jimenez: "I value the views of my colleagues, but the truth is there is no evidence that project labor agreements increase costs. Project labor agreements require contractors to hire workers from local union halls, our own residents. Imagine that. Our city being built by our residents."

July 20, 2017: $47 million sale of San Jose’s Hayes Mansion falls throughFrom Councilmember Jimenez: "We continue working to move the sale forward in the hopes of saving our tax payers' money as well as making certain the hard working employees of the mansion continue to be employed. We will keep you, our valued residents, updated."

District 2 City Councilman Sergio Jimenez stood before a South San Jose track side soundwall covered in graffiti and called the Union Pacific railroad to clean up its act. "We really want Union Pacific to be a good partner, come to the table and work with the city to try and address some of these issues… We've been hearing promises for years on end that something was going to happen, but still nothing has happened.”

“We feel Union Pacific hasn’t been a good partner,” Jimenez said. “The city’s willing to help do some of the work. We’ve gotten funding to help paint over the wall of graffiti. Unfortunately, we haven’t had a willing partner on the other side. And that’s what we hope to change with the litigation.”

“The reality is that Union Pacific has not been a good neighbor,” Councilman Sergio Jimenez — whose district encompasses a chunk of blighted Union Pacific track along the city’s southern gateway — said at a press conference Wednesday morning. “Quite frankly, we’re tired of it.”

San Jose Councilman Sergio Jimenez, who represents the neighborhood, says this area has become a dumping ground. "Furniture, construction debris and piles of garbage [on the] tracks, all the way to Morgan Hill," he said.

“What we do every day by allowing this to exist is telling the residents, the residents on the other side of the tracks, that they don’t matter as much. Right? And we want to change that,” said CouncilmemberJimenez.

"It's been going on long before I was elected, I hope it doesn't go on after I [leave]," Councilmember Sergio Jimenez said at a news conference next to graffiti-covered tracks at Monterey Road and Edenview Drive Wednesday morning. "It's just become extremely frustrating."

The City of San Joséis committed to open and honest government and strives to consistently meet the community’s expectations by providing excellent service, in a positive and timely manner, and in the full view of the public.